


Wonder

by lilacnightmares



Category: Ever After High
Genre: Awkwardness, F/F, Fate & Destiny, Gift Exchange, Handholding, Hurt/Comfort, Library, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:22:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28093098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacnightmares/pseuds/lilacnightmares
Summary: After the events and aftermath of the Dragon Games, Apple is left between a rock and a hard place. Her actions weren’t the best and even though everyone says it’s okay and over with, she knows that it isn’t okay. She just wishes she knew how to make things right. What’s more, a thought eats away at her as she wonders who woke her up.Exchange gift.
Relationships: Darling Charming/Apple White
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	Wonder

Apple wasn't sure of one little thing, it was the most important thing ever after, the most important moment of her life and everyone had been so caught up in the moment that it wasn't entirely clear who had awoken her from her slumber that she had fallen deep into thanks to the effects of the poison apple.

It was her destiny to fall asleep after an evil queen envied her beauty enough to want her out of the way and someone was to awake her from her slumber, giving her the safety of her happily ever after. 

Raven may have changed things with her magic, giving them the power to steer their destiny in their hands but that did not mean that the power that gave their stories life went away just like the wave of a magic wand. They still had destinies and those destinies were the place that guaranteed them safety from the unknown. 

Ever since she was a little girl and she took a tumble down a well, she had been fearful of any moment that wasn't written out on a page for her to follow through. She committed herself to her story because she knew that it would protect her from the terror that came from living off the script and not knowing where you belonged. 

To Apple, her destiny was her livelihood and her ticket to feeling in control. Once that page said Happily Ever After, she knew that her life would be safe but any moment before that was not at all given to her like the flip of a hat. She knew because she had almost gotten hurt and worse! This was what pushed her to strive for everyone to find their destiny. 

She didn't want anyone to get hurt. 

That's why she was so adamant about destiny and fate. It wasn't an entirely selfish wish. She wanted everyone to live knowing that their destiny kept them from meeting a horrible fate. Even the kids of the villains, those that faced an ending that the Storybook of Legend foretold to be not so happy, it was still a better fate than the unknown or erasing from existence. 

Her mother's drive to push her to be better and better only forced Apple to live in her fears daily as well as try to live up to her mother's expectations as the best Snow White in recent history. 

Her power was far and wide across all the storybook lands. She had proven herself in countless fields and now everyone had expected Apple to be better and fairer than she was.

Even though Apple was born with blonde hair and less than fairy perfect eyesight. A fact her mother never let her forget for a single moment. She had to be better because she wasn't born according to the script. Snow White never let her live it down. 

Her destiny always hung in front of her face and all of those actions led her to release the Evil Queen. 

Now, she regretted her actions because it put everyone in Ever After in danger, and everyone was not fairy happy about it. Nobody shunned her for it but they were brutally honest with Apple about how it made them feel. She had to look at herself in the mirror and think about who she was and who she wanted to be because an Apple who was willing to put her friends in danger was not it. 

Destiny or not, that's not what she wanted. 

Apple never wanted to hurt anyone or put them in danger! The Evil Queen had tricked her readily and she had been too naive and too caught up in the thought that she was going to protect everyone from her ill-fated fears. She didn’t blame anyone for looking the other way when they saw her and trying to keep their distance. 

Sure, everyone still spoke to her and they said things were alright… there was still tension there that no person could deny. Apple accepted that, with grace and with honor, after all, a future queen accepted her mistakes when they were made and grew from them. That was what she was supposed to do and she understood that somewhere along the line, she let herself become so caught up in her mother’s tall shadow and her fears that she lost herself. 

She lost herself and the consumption into madness had only been of her own doing and creation. 

She let out a sigh, resting her head against her advanced Crownculus hextbook, just focusing on trying to use this quiet time to… well, she wasn't sure. It was easier to find an excuse for things to be quiet than it was to accept that things were quiet for other reasons. 

Apple wouldn't say it aloud but she felt like this must have been what the villain kids felt like to go to Ever After High and know that people were to be scared of them not because of who they were, because of what they were supposed to do in the future. Safety of your destiny was one thing but how could anyone live like this? 

The isolation… it was torture. 

Apple hadn't thought about it this way before. She hasn't dared to think that maybe there was more going on than what she understood because she was so caught up in her fears. It made sense now, and while she found comfort in knowing what her future held, that meant… things that weren't good for others. 

If she was afraid of dying before the last page in her story… what of those people that were scared of page one? 

How fairy selfish of her, she thought. 

"..." 

The sound of footsteps carried her from her thoughts as she stared in the direction of the sound. She caught the wisp of white curls that ducked around a corner, obviously one of the Charming family looking for something in the deep sections of the library. Against her need to stay out of the way, she got up and followed, wondering why anyone would come to this deep section. 

Not even the Step-Sisters came to this part of the library often. There was no sight of anyone to be found however when she turned the corner to spy on the noise. 

She shrugged, deciding to grab one more book from the walls to get work done. She climbed one of the many tall ladders strewn about the room to get to one of the higher levels. 

Her book was just out of reach. 

Apple leaned over, just a bit more to the right, as her fingers touched what she needed. In her fast haste to grab what she needed there, Apple had not taken notice of how her shoes had started to slip from the railing. 

One shove too far, and she wobbled, eyes wide as she toppled over and let out a shriek. She braced herself for impact but it never came. 

"...Oomph." 

She opened her eyes and found herself staring into a familiar pair of blue eyes. They weren’t the ones that she hexpected, though. It was Darling Charming, Daring’s younger sister and the twin of Dexter Charming. Since when was she this strong? Oh, wait a tic. Darling had been spending a fairy lot of time in Wonderland and she had taken the mantle from the former White Knight. 

Her eyes widened, and Apple opened her mouth to thank her for the trouble but Darling shook her head. “It’s alright, that’s sort of my thing these days, Apple. After all, it’s normal for a Charming to find a damsel-in-distress to rescue.” 

“I appreciate it,” Apple found herself saying, her voice not feeling like her own though. “I could have gotten into fairy big trouble if you weren’t there.” 

Apple found herself back on her feet after Darling broke their gaze. She glanced away, her lower lip tucked underneath her teeth. "Yeah, it's no problem." 

Darling had been one of the many people to thrive on the change that came after Raven used her powers to give everyone the power to make their own story as they wanted it to be. She had been someone who likely would have been assumed to be another damsel in a lesser-known story given her family. 

She turned a new page well before anyone knew what was going on. Taking the mantle from the White Knight and confidently shaping her destiny to be a hero instead of a damsel. It did suit her, though, and they would never know for sure what destiny she had given she never signed the book. But, one thing was fairy sure. 

The status of a knight seemed to be where Darling was meant to be. 

Where was Apple meant to be now that things weren't as they seemed?

She was pulled from her thoughts when a hand rested against her shoulder, "Hey, are you okay? I know I caught you but you seem a little out of it today. Shouldn't you be the castleteria at this hour?" 

Apple's smile was tight. "I've been getting some major studying in for finals. It's easier to focus with some peace." 

Darling nodded. "...I can understand that. The boys have been rowdy lately. Baga Yaga has been too busy to get them to quiet down. At least, the Step-Sisters are always good for that." 

"Yeah. If I have to hear Sparrow sing one more time… well, I don't like to be rude, but he needs to get some practice if he wants to make his career out of that." 

She snickered at that but ultimately nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I think his Mom could say the same about that." 

Apple smiled. This was the first time that she had talked to anyone in quite a while about something that felt less forced. It was hard to talk to anyone that she was close to because there was just this line between them in the sand that was hard to break. 

Something about talking to Darling just felt natural and right. She couldn't put a finger on why that was. They had never really interacted before all that much unless you count the times that they were around each other thanks to their proximity to Daring. 

That wouldn't… be happening anymore. 

Daring wasn't her prince, he was Rosabella's. Don't get her wrong, she was incredibly happy for him to have found himself and have someone that understood him. It's just hard to think about him not being around, she concluded. 

It wasn't like they were exactly romantically involved or anything, it was just expected for them to get together. Apple more or less assumed that she would learn to like him just as he would learn to appreciate her. It was as their parents always said. 

They were made for each other until they weren't.

"...Hey, Apple? I've actually… been meaning to talk to you about something. Do you think you could spare a few minutes to come eat what's left of lunch with me today?" Apple blinked, pulled from her thoughts once again as Darling spoke. It took her a second to figure out what she had asked but once it clicked she found herself nodding her head for some reason before she knew what she was doing.

"Sure?" 

And so, they wound up outside on the balcony just sharing some tea sandwiches as the breeze rolled by and the faintest chatter of students as they wandered the campus. It was nice, and she let her tense back relax as she grew used to the feeling of company once again. 

She and Darling talked about this and that, the conversation easing between comfortable topics and interesting takes. Apple found herself smiling and laughing away without a care. She hadn’t been able to do that in quite a while. 

What was that feeling of comfort that she had? 

Was it because she missed chatting with everyone like nothing was wrong in the world of Ever After High, or maybe because Darling wasn’t just looking at her like everyone else did. You know, with pity and something else she didn’t want to think about. Her view of the world and the people in it was slowly starting to transform day by day.

It was hard to miss how things were changing faster day by day, and to deny the changes would be to ignore progress. 

“I’ve always wanted to chase after being a hero,” Darling smiled. “I never thought that I would be able to get the chance but now I can. I have a lot of people to thank for it, but just knowing that both of my brothers are supportive makes it easier.”

“Daring isn’t jealous that you’ve got the spotlight?” Apple raised a brow, a playful jest on her part, they both knew that Daring was working on his selfish tendencies. Rosabella had helped him to see that there was more to himself than just his hair and smile. He was dazzlingly handsome but he never stopped to be more than that. 

“Oh, no,” Darling said. She waved off that idea. “He likes that our parents aren’t putting pressure on him anymore to be the fairy best. They’re still… rather traditional about destiny and fate but they can’t control us any more than the Storybook of Legend can now.” 

“...Yeah, everyone’s free to pick how they want their story to end now,” Apple looked down at her lap, hands nervously fiddling with the fabric of her skirt. She was still torn between the safety of what she knew and the unknown.

Darling perked back up. She looked over at Apple and rested her hands against the stone ledge they were sitting on. “Sorry, Apple. I didn’t mean to bring that up. I know it’s still a sore subject for you, I shouldn’t have…” 

“No, no,” she hurriedly shook her head. “That’s a debate that’s behind us now. I can’t be upset that everyone is so much happier now that they get to decide what they want to do, whether that means they stick to their destiny or if they continue to follow their dreams. Who knows, maybe all-new stories could be written where everyone lives happily ever after.”

That was how she rationalized it. 

Technically, she had already lived through the events of her destiny. An evil queen had given her a poison apple and someone had awoken her from her slumber. She just didn’t know who had done it and if that meant that was destined to whoever had done it. That was how the magic worked, only a true’s love kiss could wake someone. 

Everyone had seen it happen. 

Her curiosity was getting the better of her about it. 

“Besides, I already fulfilled my destiny,” Apple smiled despite herself. She had felt the magic and there was no denying that. “I can’t change how it happened but it did happen. It’s not how I saw my happily ever after but… I suppose that’s what I get for trying to force something on everybody else without thinking past myself. It was fairy selfish of me.” 

“You were worried about everyone disappearing, Apple,” Darling shook her head. “I don’t think it was selfish of you to want to protect everyone, even if you think you went about it in the wrong way. Your heart had good intentions.” 

A hand brushed against her own. Apple looked down to see that Darling had tapped her fingers against the top of her palm. 

There was a spark right there for some reason, and it felt like a glimmer of magic that she had felt before but she couldn’t put her finger on why that was.

It was reassuring and coming from a real rebel, that was a nice thing to hear. “I don’t know if everyone else sees it that way, but thank you,” she said. 

Darling was quiet. It seemed like she had more to say but she didn’t know how to bring it up. She took in a breath and then looked back over the horizon that led to the village of Book End. “Hey, Apple, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that… about your destiny.” 

What could she have to say? At least, that she hadn't already heard. 

Apple shook her head, "What? It's okay. You don't have to comfort me about it, Darling. I'm okay with what happened. I'm just glad that all of our friends are safe and sound." 

"That's not it," Darling hesitated. 

She retracted her hand from Apple's and held it to her chest. She seemed to be in thought on how to say what she wanted. Apple gave her the time to clear her thoughts and focus on how she had to say it. 

After all, any princess knows that it can take a moment to come up with any perfect debate response to give to the people. Anyone who answered on the spot was likely to give up or get lost in a sea of questions. 

Darling had been there, perhaps she was thinking about speaking of what happened that day or how she hoped Apple was ready to find her destiny in her own hands since there was no longer a story binding her to the dreamless sleep that lingered for a while. 

"Apple, it's about how you woke up," she said, quietly. 

"It wasn't Daring, I know," Apple said. 

That was she came with the truth, "Yes, it wasn't Daring Charming that woke you up that day… but it  _ was _ someone else in the Charming family." 

Apple blinked. 

Someone else? 

Countless members of the Charming family lived in the land of Ever After. There were far too many to count on one page. There's just no telling who it could have been. The only other Charming that came to her mind was their brother, Dexter. 

Many of the other Charming cousins and family went to private tutors or schools for children in the world that weren't bound for a big story to hold onto. She knew some of them by name but that was it. 

There weren't many at Ever After High. 

Which meant…

"Dexter?" 

"...It wasn't Dexter." 

Apple didn't understand. What was she trying to say? 

She stood up and looked at Darling, her fingers reaching out to press against her shoulder and there was one more spark against her skin. "I don't understand, if it wasn't Daring, or Dexter, that means that the only Charming left at this school is…" 

Darling managed a smile on her face. "It was me, Apple. I'm the one that woke you up. I knew the apple was stuck in your throat as the story said it would be so I tried to help you get it out since it… it didn't work when Daring kissed you. We needed you back. But, we all knew only the magic would work. So, when I… when I kissed you…" 

The puzzle pieces finally came together for Apple White. 

"When you kissed me," Apple breathed, almost relieved and electrified by what this was doing to her body. "It could only mean that…!" 

"That I'm the Charming that was meant to wake you from your slumber," Darling answered with a nod. "I… I never got to see my destiny in the Storybook of Legends like the rest of you got to, so I didn't know what my story was… my parents always thought I'd be a lesser label fable but as it turns out… I'm Snow White's champion." 

She didn't know what to say. For the first time in her life, she was speechless and unsure of what she was supposed to do. It was like she had been flipped on her head and spun around three times fast. 

She never thought that she would know how her destiny would play out but this wasn't what she expected.

There was pressing matter as well, as stunned as she was, that fake Storybook that Grimm had been using had shown her that Daring was her prince all that time ago. Had it been enchanted by what people expected to see rather than what was meant to be? 

Or was the magic only showing Apple what she had been forced to expect her entire life? Were there people living a destiny that wasn't their actual destiny because of Milton Grimm? If that was the case, then… 

Nobody poofed. 

Her entire world view shattered like a mirror on the wall. However, the magic didn't lie. True love's kiss was the only thing that could awake a princess or prince from their slumber! Even if Daring had seen to his story as she saw, he never would have been able to wake her from her eternal sleep.

It was so much hitting Apple all at once that she completely forgot that she hadn't even said a word to Darling about this discovery that was the catalyst. 

"Darling, I…" 

Darling had stood up and started to leave, "It's okay, Apple. I know that you may not romantically like me, but I do love you dearly and even if it's not romantic love between the two of us, I know that the power of love was enough to save you. I'm happy I could wake you up if that's all I ever did." 

"Wait!" Apple caught her by the wrist, which caused the girl to look back at her with wide blue eyes. "Don't go." 

Neither of them said anything. The sound of the wind kicked up. 

Apple took in a breath, "I… I may not know what anything means anymore but I do know that you woke me up and that our destinies are tied together. Even if our story has already been told… that doesn't mean that I don't want to get to know you better than I do now." 

"I suppose… maybe we could start with a Hocus Latte?" Darling smiled.

"I'd like that," Apple said, lacing their fingers together. 


End file.
